My Saviors
by TeeFly
Summary: Cragen thinks about Elliot,Olivia,Munch,and Fin and about how they have affected his life. One shot.


**Disclaimer:** I am Dick Wolf didn't you know that. Just kidding though I wish I wasn't. But one day he may decide to let me have it that or I will take it (He-he)…..it was a joke….maybe.

**Looking Back**

Don Cragen sat in the slightly uncomfortable chair in his office, it was late and not many people were around. He reached under his desk and grabbed a drink he knew he shouldn't being a recovering alcoholic but after the day he'd had he felt like he deserved it. It was like this most days. Working sex crimes isn't a job for the faint of heart. It was gruesome, cruel, and sometimes plain unbearable. Looking into the eyes of the victims as they relive what happened to them is terrible. You can see there pain and it almost kills you every time. Kids are the worst. It might be a bad job to have but somebody had to do it. And he did day in and day out and somehow kept his sanity. How? How did he not go crazy and become just another cop who couldn't take the pressures of the job was beyond even him.

Few cops could take his position for a day let alone how long he'd had it. The only thing that kept him going was his detectives. The ones who were under his command and the ones who had become his friends.

First there was Elliot Stabler. A real tough guy who had his own ideas about justice for criminals especially pedophiles, and had entered anger management because he had a bit of an anger problem. He was working on it. But no matter what people said about his sanity (and believe Cragen they questioned it) none of them could deny he was a hell of a cop. But oddly enough that isn't what distinguished him in Cragens mind. It was his ability to be a good person that won him over. He cared about each victim like they were his best friend. Don respected him a lot.

Next comes Olivia Benson. A woman who had gone through more in her life than most people could imagine going through in two and had come out of it all a better person. She could grab you're heart with one look in your eyes. She connected to the victims in a way only she could. Being the product of her mother's rape she can understand the immense emotional trauma it causes. She was a phenomenal person. She often had kept her partner Elliot in line and saved his life and job on more than one occasion. In fact Don thought she may be the perfect woman. Beauty, brains, and a great body, he wondered why she wasn't married. His love for her ran deep though like she was his own daughter.

Of course who could forget, even if they attempted to, John Munch. A conspiracy nut he would gladly tell you his theories on things such as Roswell, The Kennedy Assassination, and Bigfoot if you let him. But as hilarious and at times crazy as Munch was he was equally compassionate and caring. He was the oddball of the investigations always with a smart comment or a witty remark. If you were down and felt like there was nobody you could connect with chances are Munch could make you feel a whole lot better. He was funny like that. He was a very important part of the Special Victims family.

And last but certainly not least comes Odafin Tutuola. He worked in Narcotics before coming to Special Victims so he often had inside sources that helped out in an investigation. He was a real tough guy, the kind people steer clear of when they don't want to get cussed out. But Cragen knew some of it was an act. He knew that Fin had a good heart and he really cared and that was all he needed to know. He knew Fin would always have his back and that meant something.

Those are the four people under his command, the four people that even though they didn't know had influenced his life in so many ways. And they had taught him so many things. They had each taught him about love, friendship, respect, loyalty, and in their own way defying the odds. In some way or another each of them had broken the barrier that had them caged and found a way to defy the odds they and society had placed against them. So had he. Don Cragen was no physic so he would be hard pressed to tell you what the next day week or even month would bring. But he did know that no matter what course the five of them ended up on in the future it would lead them back to each other.

And with that thought he put the drink down without taking a sip. A knock on his door awoke him from his daydream. Elliot and Olivia's heads pop in.

"Captain were going to O'Malley's want to come?" Elliot questioned with his most charming smile.

"Yeah sure, and Elliot never smile at me like that again." He ordered.

"I told you it was a creepy smile." Olivia said laughing.

"It is not, I will have you know I have gotten many women with that smile." Elliot laughed.

"Yeah, got them to run in the other direction." Olivia stated.

And there arguing could be heard all the way down the hall. They had seemed like such an unorthodox pair when Cragen had first put them together but oddly enough they meshed really well. Sometimes Cragen thought maybe too well. Oh well he'd worry about that later. Yeah Cragen thought as they drove to the bar wherever we end up we'll find our way back to each other.

And in the bar they raised there glasses to friendship, and Cragen knew there's would stand the test of time.


End file.
